After our decisive victory over the British
at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781, the Army returned to the Hudson
Highlands and established winter quarters at New Windsor, near
Newburgh, New York.

7,000 soldiers accompanied by 500 women and
children populated the encampment. The troops erected 600 huts.
A large building was also erected, called the "Temple of
Virture." It was used as a chapel, and served as an indoor
place to hold celebrations and special meetings. The historic
significance of the "Temple" is often just a footnote
in a reference book. But, in 1783, a meeting held in the "Temple"
could have cost America her recently gained independence and
provided an occasion to prove the greatness that was George Washington's.

It is also the site where the Society of the
Cincinnati was organized, and a large obelisk stands a few feet
from the "Temple" commemorating that event, with an
appropriate dedication plaque affixed to it, placed by the Cincinnati.

The Newburgh Conspiracy

In 1783, word was received from Minister Benjamin
Franklin that he and the other negotiators in Paris had achieved
a favorable treaty of peace with England. This treaty granted
full independence to the United States, from the Atlantic to
the Mississippi River. The treaty would be submitted to Congress
for ratification when France and England finalized their portion
of it. This news caused understandable rejoicing, but the celebration
was short lived.

Realizing the war was all but over, the officers
of the Continental Army became even more intolerant of Congress
then they had been in the past. Congress had not paid the officers
in years! The promise of "half-pay for life" was being
reneged on, and now that they, the officers, were no longer needed,
there seemed little prospect of recovering what they were owed.

A delegation of officers led by Major General
Alexander McDougall was sent to Philadelphia. They met on January
13th, 1783, with Congressmen James Madison (future President
of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (who left the Army
after the Battle of Yorktown) and others. Both Madison and Hamilton
were alarmed at the threats being made against Congress. Hamilton
decided he had better notify General Washington that in his opinion
the situation was about to explode.

George Washington was not an alarmist, but
it appears that he did not realize the depth of the anger of
the Officers or what was taking place at New Windsor. As the
seriousness of the situation unraveled, Washington wrote Hamilton:

Headquarters, Newburgh,
March 12, 1783.
Dear Sir:

When I wrote to you last we were in a state
of tranquility, but after the arrival of a certain Gentleman,
who shall be nameless at present, from Philadelphia, a Storm
very suddenly arose with unfavorable prognostic; which tho' diverted
for a moment, is not yet blown over, nor is it in my power to
point to the issue.

The Papers which I send officially to Congress,
will supercede the necessity of my remarking on the tendency
of them. The notification and Address, both appeared at the same
instant on the day proceeding the intended meeting. The first
of these, I got hold of the same afternoon; the other, not till
next Morning.

There is something very mysterious in this
business. It appears, reports have been propagated in Philadelphia,
that dangerous combinations were forming in the Army. From this,
and a variety of considerations, it is firmly believed by some,
the scheme was not only planned, but also digested and matured
in Philadelphia; but my opinion shall be suspended till I have
better ground to found one on. The matter was managed with great
Art; for as soon as the Minds of the Officers . . .

. . . . Let me beseech you therefore, my good
Sir, to urge this matter earnestly and without further delay.
The Situation of these Gentleman I do verily believe is distressing
beyond description. It is affirmed to me, that a large part of
them have no other prospect before them than a Goal1,
if they are turned loose without a liquidation of Accts. and
an assurance
of that justice to which they are so worthily entitled. . . .
. . . .
. . . . G. Washington

Hamilton sent an urgent letter to General
Washington advising him of the growing situation in Philadelphia
with the officer's delegation, and it arrived just in time. The
plan to redress their grievances had become a conspiracy. The
delegation in Philadelphia and some of the Officers in New Windsor
were organizing it.

Major John Armstrong, Aide-de-Camp to Major
General Horatio Gates, General Washington's long time enemy,
wrote Gates: "If the Army had someone like Mad Anthony Wayne
at their head, instead of Washington, I know not where they would
stop . . . . especially if they could be taught to think like
politicians. Gates and his followers distributed "addresses"
in the encampment, urging the Army not to disband until they
received "justice"

Having been forewarned, General Washington
was able to react with decisiveness. On March 13th, 1783, General
Washington ordered a formal meeting of all Officers at the "Temple."
Washington solemnly addressed the Officers of the Line.

As any prudent man would do on such an important
occasion, Washington set his thoughts to paper2,
then asked his fellow officers if they would allow him to read
his message3.

The anonymous "address", he said,
was finely written, but was calculated to impress the mind with
an idea of premeditated injustice in the sovereign power of the
United States, and rouse all those resentments which must inevitably
flow from such belief. For venturing to put this unsparing interpretation
on the paper, Washington gave as his warrant his long army service,
which he sketched proudly; and he went on to assert that the
alternatives proposed by the anonymous agitator were to leave
the country defenseless and to go into the wilderness, perhaps
to perish, or else to turn the arms of the aggrieved officers
against their own government. He denounced the courses and their
advocates and then voiced the assurance he he had resolved to
give: " . . . in the attainment of complete justice for
all your toils and dangers, and in the gratification of every
wish, so far as may be done consistently with the great duty
I owe my country, and those powers we are bound to respect you
may freely command my services to the utmost of my abilities."
He then proceeded: " . . . let me entreat you, gentlemen,
on your part not to take any measures which, viewed in the calm
light of reason will lessen the dignity and sully the glory you
have hitherto maintained; let me request you to rely on the plighted
faith of your country, and place a full confidence in the purity
of the intentions of Congress. . ."

There followed two or three minutes more of
explanation in the same spirit that led to a fine climax. ".
. . you will, by the dignity of your conduct, afford occasion
for posterity4to
say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited
to mankind, had this day been wanting, the world had never seen
the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable
of attaining."

Washington was not certain that he had convinced
his fellow Officers of the dangers of pursuing the course of
action they wanted to take. To finalize his efforts, he had brought
with him a letter written by Congressman Joseph Jones. He pulled
the letter from his pocket, but found that the print was too
small for him to read. He then reached back into his pocket and
withdrew his new spectacles. As he fumbled to put them on he
said: "you must pardon me. I have grown gray in your service,
and now find myself growing blind." That emotional statement
drew tears in the eyes of the men who had followed him in eight
years of war.5

When Washington left the "Temple"
the Officers not only voted to leave the matter of their grievances
up to General Washington, but voted him their thanks.

Washington had faced many crises in his career
as Commander-in-Chief, but he was never alone. He always had
the support of the Army and his many friends. But, on this occasion,
he stood alone, very much alone, against his own army. His brief
speech and certainly the very presence of the great man himself
carried the day.

The General then wrote a long report to the
Continental Congress. In his
cover letter, it is obvious that he was very proud that his Officers
had completely rejected the conspiracy. He wrote:

"Headquarters, Newburgh
16 March 1783

Sir:

The result of the proceedings of the grand
Convention of the Officers, which I have the honor of enclosing
to your Excellency for the inspection of Congress, will, I flatter
myself, be considered as the last glorious proof of Patriotism
which could have been given by Men who aspired to the distinction
of a Patriot Army; and will not only confirm their claim to the
justice, but will increase their title to the gratitude of their
Country . . .

With great respect, etc.
George Washington"

Washington's report reached the Continental
Congress just in time. The Congress was about ready to declare
war on the Officers! James Madison wrote in his personal journal,
". . . the dispatch dispelled the cloud which seemed to
have been gathering."

What would have happened if Washington had
failed to dissuade the Officers from their march on the Continental
Congress?

First and foremost, Congress was bankrupt
and totally without any financial credit. They were simply powerless
to pay off the Army or make good any of their promises. The larger
States, such as Massachusetts and Virginia, would certainly have
rejected any threats from the Continental Army, relying on their
large Militias to protect their sovereignty - leading to a civil
war? The smaller States would have found themselves at the mercy
of the marauding Continentals. In particular, New York and New
Jersey, with sizable populations of loyalists, and still in New
York City and its harbor was a large force of the British Army
and the ships of the Royal Navy. Out of desperation, would they
have agreed to an alliance with the British for self-protection?

How would England react to such a turn of
events? In all probability, they would have taken advantage of
the developments, ignored the already signed treaty of peace,
and started a new campaign of reconquering their former colonies.

The many possibilities of what would have
happened are pure historical conjecture. However, it is clear
that George Washington, and George Washington alone, prevented
what would have been catastrophic to the fledgling United States
of America.

Notes

1
Gaol - an 18th century word meaning Jail - - Washington is implying
that many of the Officers would end up in Debtors Prison without
their back pay.

2
This writer has been unable to locate a copy of Washington's
original address. It is not in the collections at the Library
of Congress nor the University of Virginia, the two largest collections
of Washington's papers.

3
On March 16th, 1783, J.A. Wright wrote to John Webb and advised
of Washington reading his message.

4
Washington1s remark: ". . . afford occasion for posterity
to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited
to mankind . . ." is most interesting - how much of what
he did was with an eye on history's opinion of him.

5
Captain Samuel Shaw, 1754-1794 - Massachusetts Continental Line,
wrote a letter in April, 1783 (no day shown) in which he detailed
the General's speech. Obviously, parts of it would have been
paraphrased, but it is the best account of said speech available.